


Within Temptation

by silkmoth



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Canon, Angst, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-10
Updated: 2011-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-14 15:33:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/150790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silkmoth/pseuds/silkmoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur had never seen this expression on his father’s face before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Within Temptation

  
**Within Temptation**   


  
**  
_Prologue: The Dragon_   
**

The Dragon woke up with a start. What was happening? What was the warlock doing? What…? NO! NO! That wasn’t how it was meant to be! NO!

 _  
**Chapter 1: Arthur**   
_

The moment Uther left Arthur’s chambers it got very quiet. Merlin was still sitting on the bed, he seemed unable to move one muscle. He was ghostly pale and shivering so badly the whole bed trembled.

 _Serves him right,_ Arthur thought. The prince was sitting at the table, staring at the door. He just had… he just had… Arthur buried his face in his hands. He tried to control his breathing, but had no luck. The way the King had looked at him… he had never seen this expression on his father’s face. Gods.

“Arthur, I’m so sorry.”

“Shut up Merlin. If you want to survive the next minutes, shut up or I will run you through.”  
Merlin fell silent again. His whole face seemed to consist only of enormous blue eyes out of which he stared at the prince. Arthur turned away; he didn’t want to see the scared look on Merlin’s face, he didn’t want to see any of Merlin right now.

The door banged open and before Arthur even had the change to react, a sobbing Morgana swept in, saw him and froze where she stood – on the threshold.

“Come in or get out, just close that door,” Arthur hissed.

“Arthur! Gods, you are alive! I thought… when I saw Uther I thought… you were dead!”

Morgana threw herself in Arthur’s direction, thankfully closing the door behind her. She tried to embrace him and Arthur shoved her back violently. Morgana barely managed to get a hold on the table and stared at him.

“Arthur, what happened? Why are you…? Gaius said you wouldn’t survive the night!”

“Well, he was wrong. As you can see, I’m fine.”

“But how? You were burning up two hours ago. I don’t understand…”

Morgana was interrupted as the door flew open again. Gaius rushed in and froze just as Morgana did a minute ago, mouth hanging open.

“Close that door.”

The court physician did so without taking his eyes off Arthur.

“Sire, you seem… well? When I saw the king…”

Great. What did his father do? Run around the whole castle banging doors everywhere? It wasn’t as if Uther’s chambers were so far away from his own. Maybe Arthur should expect to see a parade of noble men and knights in the next minutes.

“Sire? What happened?” Arthur saw Gaius threw a look at Merlin. _Of course._

“Do I really need explain anything to _you_? You seem to already know what has happened!”

“Well, I don’t!” Morgana said. “So please do tell me what’s going on here!”

“You want to know? Fine, I will tell you! I was lying in my bed, begging for a quick death, trying not to scream from the pain because my father was sitting right beside me, when my manservant crept in. He came over to me, laid his hands on my stomach and cast some sort of spell at me in _front of my father_! That’s what happened.”

“I thought he was asleep.”

Arthur stood up, turned around and grabbed Merlin’s shoulders, hoisted him up from the bed and shook him.

“I told you to shut up! I mean it! I’ll wring your neck if I hear another word coming from you! Is that understood?”

The moron tried to jostle him. “I didn’t know what to do! Gaius said you wouldn’t survive the night and your father wouldn’t leave your side and I… I just had to!” Merlin yelled. “You would be dead by now if I hadn’t done what I did! I was aware that it could cost me my life! What I didn’t expect was… was… why did you _do_ that?”

 _“Merlin, you’re a sorcerer?”_ Morgana said.

 _“Uther saw you casting a spell?”_ Gaius asked at the same time.

Arthur snarled. “Yes, and yes!” He shoved Merlin back on the bed. The _sorcerer_ went down like a sack of potatoes. Gods, Arthur had been so stupid! Many, many things were starting to make sense now. And even more things would make sense the moment he would be alone with this little dishonest twit. Then, Arthur would shake every lie right out of Merlin.

“Sire… why is Merlin still alive?” Gaius hesitantly asked; Morgana was speechless. Thanks to the Gods for that bit of kindness.

Arthur stared at the old man for a minute; he wasn’t sure if he could say it out loud. He almost expected Merlin to say something – usually the idiot didn’t obey him anyway. But no sound came from that direction. Arthur couldn’t really blame him for keeping silent now.

Sadly, Morgana found her tongue again. “Uther wouldn’t kill Merlin when he just saved Arthur’s life!”

The prince chuckled without humor. “There you would be wrong, Morgana. He tried to kill him immediately, with that battle axe from my wall,” he said, pointing at the deadly weapon lying on the floor.

Morgana stared at him; as did Gaius. Arthur sighed and sat down beside Merlin on the bed, shoving the moron away a little just because he could. He felt tired and still exhausted from that mysterious illness that had befallen him two days ago. Arthur hadn’t known such pain existed. The right side of his belly had seemed to be aflame, he had been sick to the stomach for hours and then the fever had claimed him. He had just wanted to die.

Arthur looked at the two people gaping at him. He sighed again. “I shoved this idiot out of the way. In his haste to kill him, my father almost hacked me in two. Then… well, I got out of bed. Quickly. My father and I… we argued.” Yelled at each other, would be more fitting. He continued. “My father tried to get around me and took another swing at Merlin. I… ,” Arthur swallowed, “I drew my sword.”

The room sat silent.

“I challenged my father over Merlin. _I challenged my father over you, you asshole!_ ” Arthur shouted at Merlin.

“I didn’t ask you to do that!”

“Shut up! Shut up and get up from the bed and make yourself useful, you idiot. You know what to do!”  
Merlin looked at Arthur for a moment, pale again, and then stood up and went over to an armoire. Arthur watched him open it and take clothes out.

“What… how did Uther react?” Morgana asked quietly; Gaius sat down at the table, looking as if his legs wouldn’t support him any longer.

“He was… surprised.” Now _that_ was an understatement. The King had been aghast, to say the least. Arthur started to rub the bridge of his nose; inwardly, he felt close to hysterics. He _never_ felt close to hysterics. “He told me to get out of his way. I said I couldn’t. He asked me why. I said… I said… Gods! I told my father Merlin is my lover. I told him I’m in love with him.” There, he said it. For the second time tonight. It sounded just as awful as before.

 _“What?!”_ Morgana and Gaius screeched simultaneously. Of course, Morgana immediately shrieked on. “You are _lovers_? What? Since when?”

“No! We’re not! Of course not!” Arthur roared. Was that woman daft?

“Now why in heaven’s name did you say such a thing?”

“I couldn’t think of anything else! Dammit!”

Everyone seemed to be frozen. Morgana and Gaius were at the table, Merlin to his right side at the board. Arthur marched over to his servant and shoved him again. “Get on with it, idiot!” Then he went to his chest, opened it and started to fling leather bags at Merlin.

“Sire, what are you doing?” Gaius asked.

“I’m packing! And you can drop the ‘Sire’.”

Morgana who had just sat down, now stood up again. “What do you mean, ‘you’re packing’?” she said anxiously. “Where are you going?”

“Morgana, I have no idea yet where I’m going. Maybe the _Almighty Sorcerer_ will think of something?” Arthur glanced at Merlin, “I thought not.”

Gaius also stood up. He went to Arthur and took his arm. “My boy, what did Uther do?”  
Arthur swallowed. “He disinherited me. He banned us. I’m not the Crown Prince anymore. Hell, I don’t think I’m a prince anymore. By dawn tomorrow, we’re outcasts. “

***

Both Morgana and Gaius had left, shocked. Gaius had said he would pack Merlin’s things and would provide them with food and medicine. Morgana had stormed out, no doubt in direction of Uther’s chambers where she would most probably get her head ripped off by Arthur’s furious father.

Watching Merlin throwing clothes and weapons in bags, Arthur sat down again at the table and put his boots on. He had no idea what to do. Where should they go? It was winter and bitter cold outside. Arthur doubted they would survive for long; especially when his father decided to send the guards for them to kill Merlin after all.

Exile.

They had to leave, otherwise Merlin would be executed at sunrise tomorrow. Arthur wasn’t the Heir anymore. His whole future had collapsed right in front of him. He should hate Merlin for all this but he couldn’t. First of all, Merlin had saved his life tonight, without any regard for his own safety. Secondly, the more time Arthur had to think the more he started to recognize that he very well might owe his life to Merlin over and over again. And thirdly… Arthur wouldn’t have been able to hate him even if Merlin had never done anything to protect the prince. His incompetent manservant had somehow managed to get under his skin, to get closer to Arthur than anyone else ever had. Merlin was so much more than just a servant, hell, he was more than a friend. The prince huffed quietly. He knew what his father would say to that; Uther would believe that the evil sorcerer had somehow enchanted his son. But Arthur knew better. That wasn’t something Merlin would do – no, the _evil sorcerer_ had hissed and spat at the prince from the first day on, had insulted him, had bantered with him. He had made Arthur laugh every day for the last year.

“Arthur?”

"Yes?"

“I’m… I’m really sorry. Really. I know it’s too little too late but I want you to know it anyway.”

Arthur turned sideways to take a look at the other man. Merlin was still deathly pale, his eyes were red and suspiciously bright. His hands which held a set of Arthur’s knives were trembling. Arthur stood up and went to him. After taking the knives away from his manservant he laid his hands on Merlin’s shoulders and said, “You know, it’s not really your fault. None of it. Without you, I would be dead by now.” The prince continued to look at the crestfallen man, “I think with all the excitement, I forgot to say, thank you for helping me. I mean that. I was in agony and with a few words you made all that go away.”

“But at what price? Your future, Arthur, your life?”

The prince shook his head. “That’s not your fault either. My father decided that. If he wasn’t so blinded by hate and fear, he could have just taken one look at you and seen who you really are. You may be a moron, but you are also the most loyal man in this whole damn kingdom.”  
The first tear escaped from Merlin’s eyes. He swallowed hard and looked down, away from the prince’s gaze, still shivering. Arthur hesitated a moment, then drew Merlin into his arms. Merlin immediately clung to him hard, sobbing quietly now. Arthur would have never done this with another man but with Merlin, things were different. Everything was different.

Finally the younger man drew back. He looked at Arthur a little embarrassed and tried to wipe the tears away inconspicuously.

“Do you feel better now?”

“No, not really,” Merlin said. Sighing, he continued, “I guess I better go back to packing.”

“I’ll help you. The sooner we leave the further away we’ll be when my father changes his mind and comes after us.”

“You think he will do that?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t expect him to behave this way tonight either. I think we should be on our guard for anything.” Arthur went over to the already packed bags, glanced at them and sighed. “Merlin, I really won’t need all those fine clothes where we’re going. It’s just ballast. Let’s stick to everything warm looking we can find… it’s cold out there. And we’ll take two crossbows, as many arrows you can find, chain mail for both of us and two swords.” Arthur looked at Merlin for a moment. “I don’t think I ever saw you in warm clothes… take some of mine for you and try out some of my warmer boots. We’ll need a sharpening stone and flintstones…” Merlin interrupted him.

“No, we don’t. I can start a fire without help.”

“You can? Handy.”

Merlin suddenly looked on the verge of tears again.  
“What is it?” Arthur asked.

“Nothing. Just… Gaius said the same thing to me once. I guess I just realized that I won’t… see him again after tonight.”

Arthur didn’t know how to answer that. He looked down for a moment, and then just got on with the packing. After a minute, Merlin joined him.

***

They left Camelot three hours later, bidding their farewell to a crying Gwen, a sobbing Morgana and Gaius, who looked at least ten years older. The old physician had packed them a horse with food, furs, medicine and the Gods know what else, and provided them with two other already saddled horses from Arthur’s stable.

When they were on the road to the woods, Arthur turned his horse around again and took a final glance at the castle, his home till tonight. He tried to memorize everything, and then his glance fell on the windows of his father’s chambers. There were still lights on. Arthur felt his face harden. _So be it_ , he thought. He turned the horse back to Merlin and they rode on into the dark woods. It started to snow.

  
 _  
**Chapter 2: Merlin**   
_

Merlin stared into the flames. He felt miserable; he was tired to the bone and freezing. Somehow the furs didn’t hold off the bitter cold at all. Merlin still couldn’t get his head around what happened in the last day. Gods, Arthur was right, he was an idiot. All his good intentions… Merlin swallowed a sob. He had been so sure about his powers, his cleverness, his great destiny at the side of the Once and Future King. And what had he done? He had destroyed everything.

Merlin could remember his fear about the dying prince, his headless rush to Arthur’s chambers. If he had just stopped for a minute and thought the whole thing through. Maybe he should have talked with Gaius about it. There would have been some way to elicit Uther from his son’s rooms; Gaius could have thought of something. But no, Merlin had been sure he had to act immediately and damn the consequences. He had been used to getting away with stuff like that for too long; and the moment he had realized that Uther was indeed awake beside Arthur, Merlin had been paralyzed. And Gods, the King had been quick. Merlin had seen that battle axe coming his way and instead of moving away he had closed his eyes. Just to find himself sitting on his arse in the middle of the room a second later. Then he had just stared at the furious men shouting at each other. Arthur had been so beautiful in his protecting rage; Merlin hadn’t been able to look away from him for a moment. And when the prince had drawn his sword… Merlin stopped himself. There was no good in dwelling on how gorgeous Arthur was; Merlin knew that for a long time now. It only brought pain for Merlin.

And still… when he had heard Arthur saying that the prince was in love with him, Merlin had had the feeling his heart stopped. He had _known_ it wasn’t the truth right at that moment but something inside him hadn’t cared. He had wanted Arthur to say this and mean it. But there was no chance in hell that this would ever happen; after yesterday even less so.

Merlin looked over to the place where Arthur was lying, deeply asleep. He knew for a long time that Arthur wasn’t into men; he had seen the looks the prince had thrown at the many beautiful women in Camelot. Beautiful women with beautiful curves. Merlin didn’t need a mirror to know that he looked nothing like that. He was extremely skinny, had a bony face and ridiculous looking ears. Maybe if he had Lancelot’s looks… the almost knight was a very handsome man and the only one Arthur had ever looked at with a certain gleam in his eyes. But Merlin didn’t look like Lancelot either, and never would. The only thing they had in common was the dark hair, and Merlin really didn’t think that Arthur would fall for his manservant over the colour of his hair.

Merlin sighed quietly. It should be enough for him that Arthur liked him; even considered him a friend. No matter how often the prince insulted him, Merlin knew – and not only since yesterday- that Arthur cared deeply about him. But it wasn’t enough; it never would be. Merlin considered beating his head against some of the rocks around them… he wanted to stop feeling this way and he knew he _had_ to stop. They were alone now and no one could know how long this isolation would last. If Arthur found out about how Merlin felt… that was unthinkable. He had been very lucky last night when Arthur had yelled at Morgana that _of course_ they weren’t lovers that his own back had been the only thing anyone could have seen. If someone would have glanced at his face at that moment… Merlin was sure his feelings had been written all over it.

Merlin sighed again. The last hours had been eerie. The snow had been coming down hard and neither of them had known anymore where they had been going. Arthur had murmured something about the snow covering their traces and therefore it was a good thing. That had been just about everything Arthur had said the whole day. They had been riding the last night and the following day without any rest; and only at nightfall today Arthur had decided to seek for a place where they could pause for the night. No matter how far they had ridden, they were still in Uther’s realm, that much was clear to both of them. Merlin had magicked wood from the surrounding trees and had started a fire immediately; the prince hadn’t even mentioned the sorcery. He had just eaten some dried meat and then had made himself ‘comfortable’ on the ground, with lots of unhappy grunting sounds.

Merlin looked again at the sleeping man. He was concerned about Arthur; not only for the lack of insults but also for the way the prince looked. He still seemed to be ill, and he was obviously more exhausted than Merlin. Even in sleep, there were worry lines etched into Arthur’s face; he looked deeply unhappy and desolate to Merlin. There was no trace of the boyish face Merlin was used to. Well, how could it? Arthur’s future was destroyed and this was all Merlin’s doing. He felt like he would crumble from all that guilt.

Merlin started to tremble all over, from despair and the cold. He tried to stop his teeth from chattering. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he froze to death? Maybe then Arthur could go home again, telling his father the warlock was dead and Arthur had come to his senses? Merlin was sure Uther would be delighted.

“Merlin?”

The sorcerer jumped. Although he had been still staring at Arthur, he had failed to notice that the other man had opened his eyes and started to look back at Merlin.

“Yes? What is it? Do you feel sick again?”

“No. I mean, I’ve felt better but I think I’m just tired now.” Arthur grimaced. Obviously the prince wasn’t too happy about admitting that. Merlin knew how proud Arthur was; to confess even tiredness meant the prince was in a terrible condition.

“Arthur, you should go back to sleep. Believe me, you don’t look so good. You shouldn’t be here, you should be in your bed recovering,” Merlin said, already wincing and waiting for being reminded at once _why_ Arthur wasn’t in his bed right now.

But the prince just looked at him some more and then said, “Get your arse over here. I can see from where I’m lying that you’re starting to look blue in the face. I haven’t rescued you from my father just to watch you dying from the cold now.”

Merlin swallowed around the lump in his throat. “What do you mean, ‘get over here’?”

“I’m cold myself, Merlin. I guess it’s reasonable to share this cosy bed. Two people create more body heat.”

Merlin stared and didn’t move one muscle. He had suspected before that the Fates hated him; now he knew for sure. No way could he sleep beside Arthur. No way.

“Stop being skittish and move your arse over here, Merlin! I promise not to molest you in your sleep.”

Yes, the Fates hated him with a vengeance. Merlin stood up and almost fell head first into the fire. Gods, he wasn’t only trembling, he was already frozen.

“Please, don’t kill yourself before you even get here, would you? Your dead body won’t be of any use to me.”

Merlin made a face at Arthur and trotted over. Inwardly, he was glad at the banter. It meant the prince wouldn’t be dying anytime soon. When he stood over the lying man and saw him throwing the fur covers back, Merlin swallowed again. This was awful. Not at all like in the fantasies he had about such a thing. Firstly, in his fantasies this would happen on a warm summer night, both of them at rest from a hunt. Secondly, Arthur’s eyes usually looked inviting or affectionate and not irritated, like now.

“What are you waiting for? Get in, I’m freezing!”

Merlin got on his knees and slipped in. He didn’t know where to put his legs, he didn’t know what to do with his arms and hands. He tried to stay away from Arthur as much as possible, no matter how inviting the warmth was.

“Gods, Merlin! You’re cold as ice!” Arthur complained. And then Arthur just turned Merlin around until his back was against Arthur’s chest. The prince drew him as close as possible, their legs were intertwining and Merlin could feel Arthur’s breath on his left ear. He smelled the prince all around him.

“Go to sleep, Merlin. We have to ride at dawn, and we have to decide tomorrow where we’ll be going,” the prince said, tightening his arms around Merlin’s waist.  
Sleep. Sure. As if Merlin could sleep now. He wouldn’t be able to close his eyes let alone go to sleep. No matter how warm it was under Arthur’s furs and blankets, no matter how protected Merlin suddenly felt. He would never be able to…

***

 

Merlin started to wake slowly. He felt very warm and cosy and something smelled delicious. Spicy and earthy, and strangely like cardamon. It couldn’t be Christmas yet, could it? And why was his pillow so hard? And why… Reality raised her ugly head and Merlin’s eyes snapped open. Gods. He was lying almost on top of Arthur, his face snuggled into the other man’s neck; and… Merlin’s right leg was thrown over both of Arthur’s. Which meant his groin was pressed in a very friendly way at Arthur’s right muscular thigh. With a hard on. Great.

 _Please, let him be still asleep. Please Gods, Fates, whoever,_ Merlin thought. He raised his head very carefully and looked at the other man. _Thank you_. The prince was sleeping, snoring slightly. Now how to move back without waking him? Especially considering the fact that he was literally lying in Arthur’s arms which were clamped around Merlin’s back. First things first. Merlin started to slowly draw his hips back from Arthur’s leg and the moment he managed that, he could breathe more easily. He glanced at the other man again. Gods, Arthur was simply beautiful. Merlin bend forward again, his eyes fixed on Arthur’s lips. He caught himself at the last moment. What was he thinking? He had to get away from Arthur as quickly as possible. And with that, he bolted up without any regard of watching where he put his feet. And promptly stamped on Arthur’s right shin, not to mention that he smashed his elbow into Arthur’s ribs.

In the next second, Arthur was on his knees himself, the sword which had been lying on his left side already drawn.

Hair sticking up in every direction, the prince said, “What? What?” and looked around frantically.

“Er… nothing. I’m sorry I… startled you. I… I had a cramp in my leg,” Merlin lied.

Arthur looked at him for a moment and then fell back on the furs. “Do you want to kill me? I thought we were being attacked,” the prince groused.

“Sorry.”

Arthur groaned and then started to stretch. Merlin swallowed again. He really should stop looking at this man. The prince rubbed is face, combing his hair with his fingers and sat up again, sighing heavily.

“Never mind. It is dawn anyway,” Arthur yawned. “Gods, I would like some tea or something.”

“I’m sure Gaius had packed some tea,” Merlin said and went over to the horses where their bags were lying on the ground. After some searching, he soon discovered Gaius’ well known tea can and had to swallow again. Every time Merlin thought about the old physician he felt close to tears. He stamped down hard on these feelings. Now was not a time to grieve, he knew that.

He grabbed two mugs and filled them with snow. Then he went over to the fire pit with them and the teabox, and with one glance from him branches were flying past him, arranging themselves into a pile. With another glance, Merlin started the fire. He didn’t even use any spell words anymore; most of the time, he didn’t need them. In Camelot, when Gaius was watching, he always had said something, because he knew he had freaked the physician out whenever he had done magic without words. With only Arthur around, he didn’t care anymore. It wasn’t as if Arthur would notice things like that.

“Huh. You can do magic without using spells?”

Alas. Merlin shoulders slumped. “Would you be more comfortable when I would use some words you couldn’t understand anyway?” he asked.

Arthur raised his hands. “No need to get snappish, Merlin. I’m not used to any of this… but let me tell you, the moment we have some time, you will fill me in on that.”

***

After they drunk the awful tea –Merlin really should had paid more attention to Gaius when the man made tea, but usually Merlin had been asleep then – Arthur started to get restless. He looked after the horses, packed the furs and blankets and paced around without any reason Merlin could detect. The sorcerer just sat on one of the rocks that were ice cold even after he had swept off the snow and tried not to look too annoyed. Or too scared. The latter was more difficult. After a few minutes, Arthur stopped right in front of him. Merlin looked up at the prince.

“Alright, I have no idea where we could go,” Arthur groused. “I thought about it for hours now, but I just don’t know. We can’t go to Wessex or Mercia, Northumberland is too far away anyway. All of the kingdoms which had sworn loyalty to my father are out… the Lords there would just arrest me for Uther and kill you on the spot. When we try to sneak in one of the hostile realms, you would have a chance to survive, especially if we chose one where magic is allowed. For me… well, the best case scenario would be that I would be taken hostage. Worst case, they will kill me. Not exactly something I look forward to.” Arthur sighed. “So, I am open to suggestions. Can you think of somewhere? A quick answer would be very welcome, though… we have to leave as soon as possible.”

Merlin looked down at his feet. He _could_ think of something but he wasn’t sure how Arthur would react. He glanced at the prince full of insecurity.

“Well? Spit it out, man! I can see you have an idea and I already know I won’t like it. Just tell me.”

Merlin swallowed. “Er… I know of some place… some magical place. I’m sure no one can find us there. I don’t think anyone who isn’t able to work magic can even see it, let alone find it.”

“Great idea. For you. And me? I can’t do any magic as I hope you know.”

“That… wouldn’t matter, I think. When you’re with me it shouldn’t be a problem. You were already there once, accompanied by other… er, magical beings,” Merlin said and winced.

“What are you talking about? I hadn’t been anywhere…”

Merlin interrupted him. “Yes, you had been. You just can’t remember it. It was when you had… thought you had eloped with Sophia.” Merlin huffed silently. “I really hate to tell you this, but I didn’t knock you out with a lump of wood.”

Arthur stared at him for awhile and then sat down hard on the rock right in front of the sorcerer. “I’m tempted to say I’m glad to hear that but I have the feeling that whatever you _will_ tell me in the next minute I’ll hate even more. But anyway, do tell.”

So Merlin talked. He told the whole story and after awhile he couldn’t look at the prince anymore. To say Arthur looked shell-shocked would have been an understatement. After Merlin finished with how he had drawn the unconscious prince out of the water, he fell silent.  
For a few minutes neither man spoke. Then Arthur rallied.

“So what are you saying? You want to go back to that lake? Where those… what did you call them? Sidhe?…are living? Are you insane? They don’t sound exactly as something I want to deal with every day.”

“I don’t think the Sidhe are dangerous creatures, Arthur. Yes, they were angry when I saw them, but they were angry at Aulfric. As far as I know – at least that’s what Gaius told me- they don’t care about mortals. They’re the guardians of Avalon. I’m sure they would ignore us. When I was there the third time, alone…”

“You went back there again?”

“Uh… yes. I had to take care of something else… and I didn’t see the Sidhe anywhere.”

“This ‘taking care of something’… I guess that’s a story for another time?”

Merlin remembered that day, the way The Sword had glinted in the sunlight, only to be swallowed by the dark waters. He shivered slightly and heard the whispering of his magic all around him. He said, “yes, that’s definitely a telling for another day, Arthur. I will explain everything to you… I think it will become very important some day. But not now.” Merlin looked at the prince. “What do you think?”

Arthur stood up again and went to the still smoldering fire pit. He stared at it for awhile, then started to shove snow and dirt on it with his boots. After that, he straightened and turned around.

“Alright Merlin, we can at least try it out. It’s not as if we have many options here. Do you know in which direction we must go?”

“Er… it’s not a direction exactly.” Merlin saw Arthur’s eyebrows were drawing together and hurried on. “I said it before, it’s a magical place. I don’t think it’s very far away if you know how to reach it, no matter where you are at the moment. We have to bind the horses together, so I won’t just vanish from your eyes. I’ll take the lead.” He smiled a little. “Can you live with that, _Sire_?”

Merlin just managed to duck from the flying horse blanket he saw coming in his direction.

  
 **  
_Chapter 3: Arthur_   
**

Dammit. Arthur had hoped he had been wrong about his father following them. Now they were dashing through the dark winter woods with his father and his guards close behind them. The prince knew both he and Merlin should thank the Gods they hadn’t been caught yet. It had been sheer coincidence that his companion had seen the red cloak the King wore. _Just like him… to wear this pompous cape even when hunting down his own son_ , Arthur thought full of disgust.

The prince ducked just in time to avoid getting another branch in his face; the first one had been bad enough. He was bleeding all over his face since that happened, and he had seen the frightened look Merlin had sent him. Arthur could relate; he was feeling awful. Dizzy and cold and yet at the same time feverish again. He wasn’t in the condition for this chivvy through the snow and he didn’t know how long he could keep riding with this speed. But he had to… Merlin would be dead when his father caught them. And knowing Merlin Arthur knew the moron wouldn’t leave his side, not even when Death himself rode on a horse right behind them…

There was a sudden jerk, during which Arthur barely managed to stay in the saddle, and then his horse began to buck. The prince didn’t stand a chance. He flew over the head of the horse and landed on his left side in the snow, his arm making a sickening cracking sound. Arthur just lay there, panting for air. The pain in his left arm was surreal. There was no need to look for what happened; Arthur already knew. They had bound their horses together because Merlin had been afraid to lose Arthur whenever he found that damned lake and now the horse with their bags, food and furs obviously got stuck on one of those bushes with thorns.

“ARTHUR!”

 _Yes Merlin_ , Arthur thought, _I can see it_. He couldn’t make a sound but his eyes were functioning. He could see the still bucking horses coming his way. But he couldn’t move anymore. Suddenly he felt someone grab him on both arms and draw him back from the wild animals. Arthur screamed, he couldn’t help it, but the other hands were relentless. He was dragged into the woods by a panicked Merlin who didn’t seem to be able to just let him go, even when they were away far enough.

“Merlin, let me…,” Arthur whispered. “Let go off me.”

Merlin laid him down carefully, looked at him for a moment out of crazed eyes, and then the idiot started back for the horses.

“MERLIN!” _Gods, that hurt!_ “Merlin, stop that! You’ll never get them untangled anyway.”

His former manservant hesitated, threw another glance at him and then turned his head again and stared at something in the distance, looking like a deer surrounded by wolves. The prince could already hear the men and the dogs.

“Merlin!” Arthur shouted. “Run! Run as fast as you can!” Not that it would do him any good; the moment his father would notice they were separated he would release his dogs. Merlin would be hunted down and mauled by bloodhounds. That image was so horrifying that Arthur couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

The next moment Merlin hoisted him up again, threw Arthur’s body over his shoulder and began to run.

“Merlin, stop that. Please stop, my arm…,” Arthur moaned. He didn’t think Merlin even heard him. How he was able to run with Arthur’s weight on him, the prince didn’t know. But ran he did – like a rabbit. The upside down position Arthur was in and the bobbing around made bile rise in his throat; he clung with everything he had to consciousness. This was madness. To his horror, Arthur suddenly noticed that they left everything behind; he didn’t even have his sword anymore. The only thing left for protection was his right hand. Arthur wondered, dazed, how it would feel when one of the dogs bit his fingers off. Then darkness closed around him.

***

Arthur regained his consciousness slowly. He had no idea where he was, what had happened and what that strange rustling sound was. Without giving away he was awake, the prince tried to remember… and in a rush everything came back to him. Gods. What had happened after he had passed out? Where was he? And, more important, what had happened to Merlin? The strangest thing was that he felt no pain at all. Arthur could remember in detail that he had broken his arm and the Gods knew what else and the fact he didn’t hurt could only mean that he had been unconscious for a very long time. He reached out with his other senses and noticed he was lying on something soft, he could hear _birds singing_ and it was _warm_.

 _No, please no_ , Arthur thought. The last time he had been awake it had been winter, and now the smell in the air spoke of late spring, maybe even summer. And that meant he had been out for months, that he was back at Camelot and that _Merlin was dead_. The breath hitched in his throat. That wasn’t acceptable. Merlin couldn’t be dead; Arthur couldn’t even bear to think it. He felt hot tears rising behind his closed eyelids and he didn’t care. He didn’t care.

“Arthur?” A very familiar voice asked hesitantly. “Are you awake?”

Arthur’s eyes snapped open. Above him was the face of his ex-manservant, looking worried. The tears escaped.

“Arthur? Gods, what is it?” The prince felt Merlin’s fingertips on his cheeks, wiping away the wetness. “Do you still hurt badly? Dammit, I’m so useless!”

Arthur just continued to stare at Merlin for some time, not caring at all that his eyes were still leaking. _How could that be?_ He thought. _Why was Merlin still alive?_

Finally, Arthur tore his eyes away from the other man, looking around. He started to sit up very quickly, and almost went down again; Merlin just caught him in time.

“Easy, Arthur. You were unconscious for hours; I didn’t know what to do when you wouldn’t wake…” The prince interrupted him.

“Hours? What do you mean, hours? Where are we?”

“Er…,” Merlin stuttered, “I guess you have to see this with your own eyes. But still, get up slowly, alright?”

With Merlin’s help, Arthur stood up. He was inside some sort of hut made out of wood. One big room, as far as he could tell. The prince’s glance fell on some kind of stove, weirdly shaped. When he looked down, he froze where he stood. Under his naked feet, there was a giant rug with beautiful unicorns all over it. Arthur closed his eyes for a minute, turned around and opened them again. There was a large bed. _His bed_. The bed which should have stood in his chambers in Camelot; there were even his blankets and pillows. Arthur was beginning to suspect he was dreaming. This couldn’t be real. He stole a glance at Merlin and the other man immediately averted his gaze.

“Merlin, what… how…?” Arthur stopped as soon as he saw the two windows and what lay behind them. Gods in Heaven. He shook off Merlin’s supporting arm, went to one of the windows, and then swung to the left and opened the door. There he stood still on the threshold and just stared.

  
 ** _Interlude: Uther  
_**  
The King was infuriated, storming through his castle like the Great Dragon himself. He had been close, so close. He had seen the warlock stumbling, almost dropping Uther’s injured or already dead son. Uther just had had to reach out with his hand and he could have grabbed the red scarf around that scrawny neck. And then… they had vanished. Right before his eyes, they had vanished and only left a strange mist behind.

ARTHUR! He had lost his son to sorcery, just as he had lost his beloved wife years before. If Albion thought the King a cruel and uncaring man… now they would learn. Oh, they would all learn. There would be no mercy anymore. Never.

  
 **  
_Chapter 4: Merlin_   
**

Merlin looked at Arthur’s back and swallowed. He had no idea at all how the other man would react to their surroundings. But right at this moment, Merlin wasn’t really able to worry too much. He was just glad Arthur had woken up; the prince had been unconscious for so long that Merlin had feared he had killed the man.

Merlin shivered slightly. He could still hear the panting of the hounds and the yells of Uther. It had been very close. Merlin wasn’t sure how he had managed to escape; he had just wished with all he had to reach the lake and suddenly he had been here, landing on his arse and tumbling down the shore. He had barely avoided falling into the lake with the prince on his back. Then he had turned around and expected to see Uther and the guards but they hadn’t been there. And there hadn’t been any snow either. The first thing he had really seen was a white butterfly with black dots right in front of his nose, sitting on a dandelion. Then he had noticed how warm it had been. And then…

“Merlin?”

The sorcerer startled back to presence. Looking up to the other man, he saw Arthur had turned around and stared at him with the weirdest expression Merlin had ever seen on any face. Right.

“Um… I take it you can’t remember this place, can you?”

“No. Merlin, I… well, maybe. But it’s like I dreamt about this place, not as if I had been really here, you know?”

“Sophia enchanted you. The fact that you can remember anything at all is amazing, really.”

Merlin rolled his eyes at his own words. Could he sound any more stupid? The only amazing thing here was that Arthur hadn’t called him idiot yet.

“Merlin? MERLIN?”

Shit. “Yes?”

“What is this? I mean, this is my bed. How…?”

Merlin’s shoulders slumped. How could he explain the bed? The rest… well. But the bed. He felt blood rising to his face; especially to his ears. Great.

“Arthur, I just… um…,” Merlin stuttered and fell silent. What could he say? Merlin didn’t think it would go over well with the prince if he told him how often Merlin had stared at that bed and the blankets and the damn pillows and how often he had wished he could lie in there with Arthur. And Merlin was very sure that was why _this_ bed had appeared out of nowhere when he tried to conjure up _some_ bed. When he had first seen it he had wondered for a moment if it was really Arthur’s bed and then he had seen the little ‘M’ carving at the bottom of the left post. Oh yes. This was Arthur’s bed. And Merlin wondered what the people in Camelot would think if they saw the prince’s empty chambers. He especially wondered what Morgana would think. Gods.

“MERLIN! Could you concentrate for a moment?”

“What? I needed a bed for you. It just appeared. I am a sorcerer, I can do things.”

This was it. Offence. Arthur didn’t know shit about magic. Merlin could say whatever he wanted… if he still wanted to lie. His shoulders slumped even lower.

“Arthur, I…”

But the prince was already on the next topic. “What is this?” He asked, pointing at the… _stove_.

“Um…” Merlin sighed. Maybe he should just drown himself in the lake. That would be easier.

“That’s a… stove. A stove. You know, to cook things… and stuff?”

“I never saw a stove like that in my whole life. Why is it blue?”

Merlin had no idea at all. That thing had just appeared, he didn’t even know where to put the wood. He scratched his head.

“I don’t know. Honestly I have no idea. I was a little rushed, you know. You were bleeding all over the place, and you had a broken arm, fever, you were unconscious and I…”

“Hey, easy there.” Arthur was suddenly right in front of Merlin, taking his arm. And the prince looked kind of blurry to Merlin. Great. He was bawling again. If Merlin didn’t know for sure he could pee while standing up, he would think himself a girl.

“Merlin, please calm down, alright? You healed me. Again. Thank you. I feel fine. I just want to understand a few things… and the stove isn’t really that important.” Arthur threw a quick glance at that thing. “I don’t know how to cook anyway.”

“Me neither.”

“See? I shouldn’t have asked. And I won’t ask about the rug either. Although, wow, beautiful. What I really want to know, Merlin, is how you escaped my father?”

***

A few hours later, both men sat on a brand new wooden bench overlooking the lake. The sun had begun to set and the white mists on the other side of the lake were now barely visual. Merlin had told Arthur everything he could think of, starting with their successful escape, how Merlin had _made_ that hut and the stuff in it. Then he had told the prince about what had happened the last year in Camelot; he had also told him about his fear of discovery. That part had been hard, but Merlin had promised himself he wouldn’t lie anymore. He just left out the feelings he had for Arthur, and that wasn’t lying. That was avoiding disaster.

“And you really think we can stay here for awhile?” Arthur asked.

Merlin nodded. “I felt welcome here at once. You know, I didn’t think I could do all this stuff I did in the last hours. I think this place enhances my powers.” Merlin hesitated, because that didn’t feel right. “Or maybe… it sets them free. I’m not sure.”

“Hm. And on the ground of the lake there is the sword?”

“Yes.” Merlin shivered.

“What is it?”

“I… I really don’t want to talk about it. I don’t know why… I’m sorry.”

Arthur just nodded. He glanced around for awhile, and then asked, “behind those mists, there is Avalon?”

Merlin stood up abruptly and went down to the lake; he looked down at the water and crossed his arms. Behind him, he heard Arthur say, “huh. I guess that’s another thing you don’t want to talk about?”

Indeed. Merlin didn’t want to and he didn’t know why. He had that one glimpse at Avalon and it had been beautiful. But every time he thought of Avalon _and_ Arthur, his blood ran cold. So he just kept quiet.

After a few seconds, he heard Arthur sigh. “Alright, Merlin, keep your secrets.”

Merlin turned around quickly. “There are no secrets! I just don’t want to talk about something I don’t understand myself, okay?”

Arthur raised his hands. “No need to yell like a fishwife. It’s alright. You’re saying no secrets, I believe you.”

Dammit. There _was_ a real big fat secret. And Merlin couldn’t tell. So he did what any sane person would do. He huffed and went up to their hut. In other words, he fled.

***

“So, tell me again. You can go to a magical place, you talk to dragons, you can fight monsters, but you can’t make anything to eat?”

Merlin wondered if he would be able to hex Arthur into silence. He was frustrated enough to do something drastic now. For an hour at least he had tried to magick _some_ food. But so far, nothing. Not even an apple. Not even rat stew. He sighed.

“Obviously not.”

“So what now? We’ll starve?”

“I did manage the crossbows and the arrows. You can hunt something and I can look for some fruits or vegetables. Or mushrooms. There are woods all around us.”

“It’s dark outside.”

“Arthur, I think you will live even if you don’t eat anything tonight. And don’t you dare tell me again you’re hungry! If I hear those words again you will sleep on the floor tonight!”

Only after he saw how Arthur suddenly looked at him, Merlin noticed what he just had said.

“Er…”

“You know, that’s an interesting question. Why is there only one bed?”

“Because there was no time before. I’ll make another one right now.”

Somehow Merlin managed to not make a face at Arthur. He stood up, walked into the middle of the room and concentrated. He thought of his own bed in Camelot and reached out with his magic.

A few very silent minutes later Merlin tried to conjure up at least a paillasse. He was close to ripping his hairs out. Nothing happened. Nothing. He could almost hear the Fates laughing at him.

“Merlin? Maybe you dried up or something?”

The next moment, Merlin heard Arthur yelp. As he turned around he saw the prince sitting on his arse on the rug. His chair had… vanished.

“Dried up, huh?”

Arthur stared up at him; mouth hanging open. Merlin expected him to start yelling any minute now. What he didn’t expect was that Arthur suddenly started to laugh loudly. And wasn’t able to stop for quite some time. Gods, this was contagious.

Some time later, both men were lying on the rug, wiping away tears and still giggling.

“Well,” Arthur said, “I guess the bed is big enough for both of us.”

Merlin closed his eyes.

***

 

It was getting old real fast. Merlin didn’t understand why he wasn’t able to stay on his side of the bed. Every night when they went to bed, he almost fell out of it because he stayed away from Arthur as far as possible. Every morning he woke up, he was all over the prince. Arthur wasn’t beating him off with a stick, which was the other thing Merlin didn’t understand. He _knew_ Arthur had been awake quite a few times when Merlin woke up, pressed to the prince’s back or lying _on top_ of him; always in an embarrassing state of arousal. Arthur didn’t say anything about it at all. Which was really weird because the prince mocked him every evening when Merlin tried to make some kind of bed, mattress, whatever. The strangest looking things appeared but nothing Merlin could sleep on.

Merlin sighed. At least today he had managed to squirm free of Arthur’s embrace without waking him. He had rummaged around in the new larder until the prince had appeared all rumpled in the door. Without looking to closely at the other man, Merlin said, “we need more meat. You have to go on a hunt and I will look for mushrooms.”

“Good morning to you, too, Merlin,” Arthur groused.

“Good morning,” Merlin answered, walking past the prince.

Mornings were the most difficult time for Merlin. His emotions were always dangerously close to the surface then; probably due to the fact he slept in Arthur’s arms the whole night. And a sleepy Arthur was hard to resist. And Merlin had to resist or he would do something real stupid. Like kissing the other man. Merlin wondered how often he would have to tell himself this until he stopped _wanting to do something stupid_.

“Gods, you’re in a fouler mood than I’d ever seen Morgana in,” Arthur grumbled behind Merlin. “And I didn’t know this would be possible. What is it with you? More dreams?”

Merlin turned around.

“What do you mean, _more dreams_? I didn’t notice I’ve dreamt something.”

“Well, sometimes you… moan in your sleep.” Arthur looked steadily at Merlin. “It’s hard to calm you down. But it’s… alright. I… don’t mind exactly.”

Merlin felt himself flush all over. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

The prince looked at him some more and then cleared his throat. “Whatever. It’s not so bad you know? So – what meat do you want? Venison?”

“What?” The only thing Merlin heard was some kind of whooshing sound… his blood pounding in his ears, he was sure.

“What kind of meat?”

“I don’t care. Rabbits, deers, boars… whatever crosses your path.” And with that, Merlin left the hut. Quickly.

***

A few hours later, Merlin sat on the bench, an empty basket beside him. He had found many mushrooms but he had noticed an hour ago that there had been very poisonous mushrooms mixed with the edibles, so he had thrown all of them away. For the life of him, he hadn’t been able to concentrate on what he was doing and this was really bad if one was looking for mushrooms.

The reason for his lack of concentration was the conversation he had with Arthur this morning. Or – what Arthur had said. Merlin wasn’t all too sure he had said anything at all. Arthur’s words and his expression… it didn’t make sense. If Merlin hadn’t been sure it couldn’t be, he would have sworn… that Arthur _knew_ and didn’t mind. And that wasn’t possible, was it? Gods, Merlin would have sold his soul for the power of mind reading. He didn’t know what to do. If he tried something and was wrong… Arthur would probably kill him. No, he wouldn’t kill him, but the prince would be disgusted and that would be worse. But if Merlin didn’t do anything and Arthur thought he wasn’t interested – after all, Merlin had all but run away this morning – then he could lose his one chance.

Merlin buried his face in his hands. It was Will all over again, with the addition of love. Merlin hadn’t been in love with Will but he had wanted him. He had just been to insecure to start something and finally had left for Camelot. When he had seen Will again it had become clear that Will had been very willing himself, but then it had been too late. Merlin was already head over heels for Arthur and even if he hadn’t been… Will had died.

Merlin swallowed. He wished he had more experience… he just didn’t know what to do. He looked at the lake for some minutes and then decided to just wait and see how Arthur would behave when he came back. Right now Merlin would take a swim and then wash himself. It had been a very hot day.

  
 _  
**Chapter 5: Arthur**   
_

Arthur was delighted. In only three hours or so he had hunted down six rabbits, which meant there would be food for quite a few days. After laying the dead animals down in the weird sort of cellar Merlin had created a few weeks ago, he had went out in the woods again and managed to kill a boar. His work was done.

Arthur had looked around for Merlin for awhile but his companion was nowhere to be seen. So the prince had decided to go on a little adventure for himself. In the weeks –or maybe months, it was hard to tell because in this place the season didn’t change so far- they had been here, Arthur had tried about twenty times to walk around the lake. The first times he had tried it he had even packed himself some blankets because he had known the lake was vast. And every time he had tried it the same thing had happened. He had been walking for a few hours through the woods and found himself suddenly in some sort of mist. A creepy mist. It had seemed to cling to his arms and legs. The first time it had happened Arthur had been close to freaking out. He hadn’t been able to see anything, no trees, no bushes, nothing, only mist. He had been sure he would be lost forever in that fog but after a short while always the same thing had happened. The mists had cleared and he had found himself right in front of their hut. And that was impossible, really, walking for hours through the woods and then back in minutes at the hut.

Arthur had tried to talk with Merlin about this, had even suggested the sorcerer should accompany him. But he had had no luck. Merlin had just looked at him out of his big eyes and mumbled something about Avalon and that Arthur would never be able to reach it through the woods. And when Arthur mentioned building a boat to row over the lake Merlin had lost it. He had screamed furiously at Arthur to never talk about it again. Sometimes Merlin was just weird. Very weird. Other times, he was… well. Whatever.

So, today Arthur had decided to try to walk around the lake again… but this time not through the woods but on the very small bouts of shores the lake had. As far as he could see, there were no mists visible on the lake today. Alright, he couldn’t really make out the other side of the lake but he couldn’t see any mists at all; and this didn’t happen often.  
Arthur was very sure he would succeed today.

***

After a few hours, Arthur’s enthusiasm had vanished. He had been covered in mud from head to toe, due to the fact that this damn shore was very slippery; now, after some quick washing, he was wet all over. And what was even more frustrating, Arthur hadn’t been able to stay near the lake in the last hour. The vegetation had grown thicker and thicker and finally Arthur had to leave the shore. Alright, he could have tried to swim for a short while but he still remembered Merlin’s expression when Arthur had gone into the lake for a short swim for the first time. The sorcerer had all but begged him to _never_ go swimming alone; and Arthur wasn’t a fool. He may have been mocking Merlin and calling him a girl but he knew that he had to listen to him. This wasn’t Camelot, this was a magical freaking place and Merlin knew or guessed much more about it than Arthur ever would. So he heeded the sorcerer’s advice. Every time the prince did this, he had the feeling that everything was right in his world. That was something he would _never_ tell Merlin.

Arthur finally stopped walking. There was no use to it, and he didn’t want to experience that weird mist again. It would be better to turn around and…

Suddenly, Arthur caught a glimpse at sunrays reflecting from water. Alright, he obviously wasn’t so far away from the lake as he had thought. The prince turned left and fought his way through the bushes to reach the shore at last. He stumbled over a few weeds and managed to get hold of a large tree which looked… familiar. Arthur sighed. It was the big oak standing right beside their hut. Obviously, the woods had turned him around again somehow. It was just strange that there hadn’t been any mist or something like…

At that moment, he saw Merlin. What he had seen before hadn’t been the sun reflecting from the water, it had been the sun glinting on Merlin’s pale, naked skin. Arthur swallowed. He had seen Merlin naked before, sure, but not looking like this; like some sort of mythical creature. Arthur stopped himself immediately when he started thinking of the unicorn. He wasn’t a girl after all.

Arthur leaned against the tree and just watched Merlin. Usually, he tried to avoid dwelling on his feelings for the other man. But today… today was different. It had been too obvious this morning to ignore what was going on between them. Arthur rubbed the bridge of his nose. In Camelot, he had always attempted to think of Merlin as he would of a younger brother he hadn’t had. He had overlooked the flashes of jealousy he had had whenever he saw some girl flirting with his manservant. It had been easy in a way because Merlin had never paid any real attention to the maids. But after what had happened with Lancelot… that had been hard to ignore. Arthur had needed all his skills of keeping his royal mask on when he had heard that the handsome man _had slept in Merlin’s room_. And thinking about the way Gaius had looked at the prince, he wasn’t sure the mask hadn’t slipped after all. As much as he had hated to lose a skilled warrior like Lancelot, Arthur still had been glad to see him go. And to see that Merlin hadn’t been exactly heartbroken over it.

But even after this episode and the fact that Arthur had to admit to himself that this wasn’t some sort of brotherly love at all, he hadn’t acted. Oh, he had seen the way Merlin looked at him all too often. It just wouldn’t have been right for the Crown Prince to start something with his servant. It wasn’t… Arthur huffed and rolled his eyes. Now he started to try and kid himself. No, the reason why he hadn’t just grabbed Merlin and dragged him to his bed hadn’t been the fact that Arthur was the heir of the throne, or that Merlin was a servant, or that his father would have disapproved. Arthur’s resistance had been based only on the fact that he was scared to death of his feelings for Merlin. And to add sex to that mixture would have been explosive. The prince hadn’t been sure he would have been able to let Merlin leave again. Arthur hadn’t wanted to give anyone so much power over him. But now… he knew he had been an idiot. Or a prat. Because Merlin already had this power over him; and as far as Arthur could see he had the same power over Merlin. This power was called love, and Arthur had to admit he wasn’t only an idiot or a prat, he was a complete ass. They could have had sex for months now and Arthur had been too stupid to realize that. Well, that would change now. No time like the present.

***

After about two minutes, Arthur sat down on the bench on top of Merlin’s clothes. The sorcerer still hadn’t seen him yet but Arthur could wait. He felt like he had all the time in the world right now. The view was fantastic. Arthur loved the long line of Merlin’s neck and was very curious about the reactions he would get when he would bite down on that delicious white skin. Merlin’s back was beautiful, too, and his ass… Arthur smiled. Maybe he couldn’t wait after all.

“You know that too much water can make your skin wrinkle up all over?”

Merlin jumped. He jumped and tried to turn around at the same time with the result that he lost his footing and went under. A minute later he bobbed up again, coughing and sputtering, his hair hanging down his forehead, almost covering his eyes. He brushed it back with his left hand and stared at the prince.

Arthur was still smiling. Merlin looked adorable, but he wouldn’t tell him that. Arthur was sure Merlin wouldn’t appreciate that remark. But he _was_ adorable… and fascinating. Arthur hadn’t known till now that Merlin’s blush went down to his groin.

“What… what are you doing here?”

“I live here, Merlin.”

“No, I mean… why are you here? You should be hunting.”

Arthur felt his smile turn into a grin. Merlin didn’t know it yet but he was _still_ hunting.

“Oh, I did. Six rabbits and a boar. I hope my Lord will be pleased,” he snerked.

“Ah. Yes, that’s… really good.”

“I thought so.”

Merlin fell silent and continued to stare at Arthur. The prince looked straight back and waited. He knew he could outwait Merlin easily.

“Um… Arthur? You… you’re sitting on my clothes.”

“Yes.”

“Would you please hand them over?”

“No.”

Merlin had already started to make his way to the shore and now stopped where he stood. Arthur saw him swallow.

“What did you say?”

“I said no.”

“What?”

“No, I won’t give you your clothes.”

“But… why?”

“Because you look real good without them.”

Wow. Arthur hadn’t thought Merlin could blush any harder but he did. This was fun.

Sadly, it stopped being fun right away. Arthur could see the charming blush turn into an angry one. And wasn’t that weird, that he was able to interpret Merlin’s blushes? Then the blush went away completely and Merlin looked suddenly pale.

“Alright, you had your little joke. I know how I look, believe me. Now give me my clothes.”

Arthur looked at Merlin for a moment; then he stood up. He picked up the shirt and the pants, turned around to the naked man in the lake and said, “you think I’m lying or making fun of you? Do you really think that?”

By now, Merlin had crossed his arms and was glancing miserably at the prince. After Arthur’s words though, Merlin straightened up and stuck out his chin, his eyes became narrow. Arthur admired the fact that Merlin just didn’t give in, no matter what. He started to get _really_ excited.

“Gods, you’re an asshole, I hope you know that. You want to humiliate me? Go ahead!” With that, Merlin started to stomp towards the shore, a murderous expression on his face.

Huh. Arthur didn’t want to have a scuffle with Merlin on the shore. Too much sand, too many stones. A quick retreat to the hut was the best plan right now. So he went there, taking Merlin’s clothes with him. He could hear the other man hissing at him over the whole distance. As soon as he entered the hut, Arthur threw Merlin’s things into one corner and then undressed real fast. Naked, he leaned back on one bed post and waited.

  
 **  
_Chapter 6: Merlin_   
**

Merlin was furious while he stormed up to their hut. Furious and sad at the same time. He had been such an idiot! Yes, Arthur certainly had noticed how Merlin felt; and now Merlin would have to pay the price. And there he had been worried about disgust… mockery was so much worse than that.

 _Because you look real good without them_. Yeah, sure. Skinny, bony, ugly.

Arthur could kiss his ass. Merlin would made himself another hut, and if his damned magic wouldn’t approve of that, he would _build_ himself a new hut with his hands. And sleep on the floor.

He reached the door and entered, squinting around while he tried to adjust his eyes to the sudden light change. Where was the ass? Ah, there he was. There he… Ungh.

Merlin stood and stared. His eyes roamed over miles of golden, naked skin. Suddenly he had a problem. A big one. His eyes started twitching. Merlin didn’t know where to look – at that beautiful cock rising out of a nest of blond pubic hair or at the face of Arthur… flushed, eyes darkened and a pink tongue wetting the prince’s lips.

“Breathe, Merlin, before you pass out.”

Good advice. Merlin gulped down some air. At least now he didn’t feel so dizzy anymore but he still had no solution for his problem. _What was going on?_

“Excuse me? Please tell me I don’t have to start with the birds and the bees, Merlin.”

Shit.

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

“But… I don’t understand. I thought… why…?”

“Come over here and I show you.”

Merlin went.

  
 **  
_Chapter 7: Arthur_   
**

Arthur never had had so much fun in his whole life. He had never been so excited, never been so aroused, never been so delighted to have someone else so close to him.

Merlin was… everything. Everything Arthur had dreamed about. He was incredible, sensitive to every caress, to every touch, to every kiss. And he smelled good, he tasted good.

Arthur smiled to himself while he nibbled on Merlin’s hipbone, feeling the other man writhe on the bed. The first time had been over as soon as Arthur’s lips had closed around Merlin’s cock. The prince had to stomp down hard on his own excitement and stop himself from coming right with Merlin. Then he had somehow calmed the embarrassed man down again and now, about ten minutes later, they were right back at where they had begun.

Who would have thought Merlin had been still a virgin? Arthur had always believed that the boys from the villages were early starters.

“Arthur,” Merlin moaned and tried to draw him up. The prince went willingly and let himself be led into a deep kiss. Merlin’s lips were softer than any women’s lips Arthur had ever kissed. The prince settled himself on top of Merlin, pressing their cocks together and immediately felt the other man rear up against him. Merlin ripped his mouth away to gulp in some air, moaned in the most fantastic way, and started to hump Arthur fiercely. Since he was at the same time kissing the prince’s neck up to his ear, Arthur begun to see stars before his eyes. Dammit. There went the royal staying power. He groaned and came, hearing the shocked moan of Merlin and felt his lover contribute to the mess Arthur already made between there bodies.

Alright then. At least he still had more stamina than Merlin.

***

Later, much later, Arthur’s head rested on Merlin’s chest. He wasn’t able to move one muscle. He was completely and totally exhausted. They were both a mess. The bed was a mess. Hell, even the pillows were a mess.

“Merlin?”

“Hngh?”

“Could you…?”

“No, forget it. You wore me out. I couldn’t get it up again even if you…”

“No! Gods, no. I just meant, could you somehow clean up the bed? There are wet spots everywhere.”

“How would you know? I’m lying in the wet spot.”

“Me, too.”

“You’re lying on top of me.”

“Exactly. And therefore I’m lying in a wet spot.”

Arthur heard Merlin sigh and raised his head just in time to see a very tired golden glimmer in his lover’s eyes. As always, he was fascinated by it. A minute later, the bed and both men were clean.

Merlin smiled up at him.

“Better?”

“Much better.”

“Good.”

They looked at each other for awhile and then Merlin said, “brace yourself.”

Arthur started to laugh at once. He knew what was coming, but he thought he should be the one to say it first. Merlin had risked enough for the prince to last for a lifetime.

“I love you, Merlin.”

And then Arthur had the pleasure to see Merlin’s eyes light up, hear him whispering, “love you, too, forever,” and kiss him again.

  
 **  
_Chapter 8: Merlin_   
**

Merlin laid awake and held Arthur in his arms. Night after night, for months, no, for years (even for Merlin it was difficult to held on to the passing time at this place), they had made love. In every way imaginable. It was hard for Merlin to remember a time where it hadn’t been this way. Gentle, passionate, demanding, giving love, full of laughter, lust and tenderness. Nothing would ever separate them again, Merlin knew that. He also knew there would be hard times ahead in the future, but _this_ would never change. Arthur was his, and he was Arthur’s.

And night after night the Warlock lay awake for some time, listening to the magic of the lake, of Avalon and to his own.

He had sensed dozens of sorcerers die in Camelot, executed by a mad King.

He had noticed war after war raping the realms, alliances breaking up.

He had felt Morgana leaving Camelot and joining forces with Mordred. This was the night he had cried.

And then, finally, he had heard the triumphant roar of The Dragon.

It was time.

  
 **  
_Chapter 9: Arthur_   
**

The prince woke up with a strange feeling of loneliness. He reached over to Merlin only to find the other side of the bed empty. Shivering in the cold of the morning, he stood up and put on some trousers. Then he left the cabin, looking for his lost lover. He didn’t have to search far… Merlin was standing on the shore, with his back to the prince.

“Merlin?”

The Warlock turned around and looked at him out of golden eyes. Out of sad eyes.

“Merlin?” Arthur rushed to his side.” What is it, love?”

“I am so sorry, my Lord.”

 _My Lord?_ What the hell… Arthur went still. He gazed at his lover for another moment and then turned around to face the lake. He felt tears stinging in his eyes, although he had sworn over the years that he wouldn’t cry. Merlin hugged him from behind, and the other man’s chin rested on his right shoulder. Arthur leaned back into the welcome embrace, letting the strength of his lover held him upright.

“Does that mean we have to leave now, Merlin?”

Arthur felt the Warlock’s magic hum around them for a moment. Then, “no, not yet. I think we will have at least another year here, Arthur,” Merlin said.

“Good. I already know I will hate the day when we’ll have to leave,” Arthur swallowed. He then turned around and glanced at the other man. “We won’t be able to come back here again, after we’ll leave, will we?”

Arthur almost shied away from his lover when he saw Merlin’s eyes. Swirling colours of gold, silver, blue and even red. The prince had never seen anything like that before. Finally Merlin dropped his eyes for a moment, and when he looked up again his eyes were his usual brilliant blue.

“No, Arthur, we will come back here. And then we will never leave again. We will be together till the end of time.” Merlin drew his head down for a slow, tender kiss. “And now, love, leave me. I have some work to do.”

Over Merlin’s shoulder Arthur could see the rising mists of Avalon.

  
 **  
_Epilogue: The Sword_   
**

And in the middle of the chaos and fighting, in the middle of the destroyed and plundered Camelot, a large rock grow out of the stone floor. Then, as if sent from the Gods, a mighty and glinting sword fell from the sky and slid into the rock. On one side of the blade, there were the words ‘Take Me Up’, on the other side the words ‘Cast Me Away’, barely readable above the rock.

On the rock itself were appearing runes in blazing gold.

  


 **CALEDFWLCH EXCALIBUR**  
LIBERATED FROM THE STONE  
BY THE TRUE KING ALONE  
 

The End.


End file.
